1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle inner mirror assembly provided within a passenger compartment of a vehicle, and to a method of assembling the vehicle inner mirror assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional vehicle inner mirror assembly 50 is illustrated in FIG. 13. The vehicle inner mirror assembly 50 is provided with a base 52 formed in a box-like configuration opening at the vehicle front and lower side. The base 52 is fixed within the passenger compartment to a front windshield (not shown in the drawings), and a substantially U-shaped plate spring 54 is disposed at the interior of the base 52. The plate spring 54 has an urging force applied toward side walls of the base 52. In a state in which balls 56 are nipped between ends of the plate spring 54 and the side walls of the base 52 by the urging force, the plate spring 54 is held at the base 52. A base inner 58 is provided at an interior of the plate spring 54, and the base inner 58 is fixed by a bolt 64 to a stay 62 disposed at a rear view mirror 60. A nipping plate 66 is disposed at each end of the plate spring 54. By fixing the base inner 58 to the stay 62 as described above, the plate spring 54 is nipped at the nipping plates 66 between the base inner 58 and the stay 62.
In the vehicle inner mirror assembly 50, as described above, the base 52 holds the spring plate 54, and the plate spring 54 is nipped between the base inner 58 and the stay 62. The stay 62 (i.e., the inner mirror 60) is thereby held at the base 52.
Generally, in a vehicle inner mirror assembly, it is desirable that the mirror fall out when a load of predetermined value or more acts on the rear view mirror, regardless of the direction in which the load is applied.
Here, as described above, in the vehicle inner mirror assembly 50, when a load of predetermined value or more load acts on the mirror 60 in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle (or in a vertical direction of the vehicle), the plate spring 54 is deflected inwardly with the spring plate 54 coming out from the base 52, whereby the mirror 60 (i.e., the stay 62) drops out from the base 52.
However, in the vehicle inner mirror assembly 50, the stay 62 is supported at the base 52 only at the two points corresponding to the ends of the plate spring 54. In order to maintain for a predetermined load the force holding the stay 62 to the base 52 only at the two points which are the ends of the plate spring 54, the urging force of the plate spring 54 is made larger. Moreover, due to the ends of the plate spring 54 abutting the side walls of the base 52 and the base inner 58, twisting of the plate spring 54 is hindered. For this reason, when a load of predetermined value or more acts on the mirror 60 in a transverse direction of the vehicle, there has been the problem that it becomes difficult for the plate spring 54 to be released from the base 52 and, as a result, it becomes difficult for the mirror 60 (i.e., the stay 62) to fall from the base 52.
Further, when the vehicle inner mirror assembly 50 is assembled, the plate spring 54, the balls 56 and the base inner 58 are aligned at predetermined positions within the base 52. The base inner 58 must be fixed to the stay 62 by fastening the bolt 64 and maintaining this state. In this manner, there has been a problem in that not only does the assembly operation become troublesome because the balls 56 and the base inner 58 are necessary, the number of parts increases, many parts must be aligned and the bolt 64 must be fastened, but a lot of time must be expended for assembly. As a result, overall assembly is poor and costs escalate.
Taking the above facts into consideration, an object of the present invention is to obtain a vehicle inner mirror assembly in which, when a load of predetermined value or greater acts on a mirror, the mirror can fall regardless of the direction in which the load acts.
A first aspect of the present invention is a mirror assembly for fastening to the interior of a vehicle, the mirror assembly comprising: a mirror; a stay supporting the mirror; a base fastenable to the interior of a vehicle, the base having at least three lugs; and a retention member connected to the stay, the retention member having at least three legs engageable with the lugs of the base for mounting the stay to the base.
A second aspect of the present invention is a mirror assembly for fastening to the interior of a vehicle, the mirror assembly comprising: a rear view mirror; a stay provided at the mirror; a base fixable to the interior of a vehicle; retention lugs provided at the base; and a retention member fixed to the stay, the retention member having at least three resiliently deformable legs, each leg extending at a substantially equal interval from around the retention member and being engageable with a corresponding lug, the legs being resiliently deformed and pressing against the lugs when engaged with the lugs for maintaining engagement therewith up to a load of a predetermined value.
According to the vehicle inner mirror assembly of the first and second aspects of the present invention, the urging legs of the retention member fixed to the stay engage by an urging force with the retention lugs provided on the base, whereby the stay (i.e., the mirror) is held at the base at a load of predetermined value.
Here, because at least three urging legs are provided on the retention member, the stay is supported at the base at at least three points. Accordingly, there is no need to increase the urging force of the urging legs to the extent necessary with conventional plate springs in order to maintain the force at which the stay is held at the base for a load of predetermined value. Moreover, bending of the urging legs is unobstructed by other members.
Consequently, when a load of predetermined value or greater acts on the mirror, at least one of the urging legs corresponding to the direction in which the load acts slides toward the stay from the base, whereby the engagement between all of the urging legs and the retention lugs is released. As a result, the mirror (i.e., the stay) is allowed to fall from the base regardless of the direction in which the load acts.
Further, when the vehicle rear view mirror assembly is assembled, the stay (i.e., the mirror) is held at the base by the urging legs engaging with the retention lugs of the base in a state in which the urging legs of the retention member are elastically deformed. As a result, conventional balls and the base inner become unnecessary, the number of parts can be reduced, and the need to align many parts and fasten them with a bolt is eliminated so that assembly operations can be conducted easily and assembly time can be shortened. Hence, overall assembly can be improved and costs can be reduced.
A third aspect of the present invention a method for assembling a mirror assembly, comprising the steps of: providing a retention member having legs; providing a base having at least one opening with lugs disposed therein, engageable with the retention member legs; inserting the retention member legs into the opening and rotating until the legs engage with the lugs; and fixing the retention member to a stay for supporting a mirror.